Driving the Jaguar F-Type R Coupe

The F-Type has arrived in 542bhp R Coupe form. But do more roof and more power make a better car?

Anyway, via that screen, you can configure the settings that kick in when you toggle the bronze key on the transmission tunnel. You're given four separate choices over whether the key sharpens up the throttle travel, firms the damper programme, speeds the gearshift or weights up the steering some more. Even on the track, we'd honestly suggest leaving the throttle pedal at its least aggressive. You still get full power, it's just that less of it cascades out of the engine at small pedal excursions. This engine is so immense that you sometimes don't want to find yourself with the whole nine yards - six might well be what you want, and seven an embarrassment of riches.

The R's engine doesn't feel more peaky than the S's. The torque curve is better-fed everywhere it matters - the S is 460lb ft, the R 502lb ft from 2,500rpm up. So you can take a corner a gear higher than you expected and then teleport down the straight. It's a fabulous engine to use. Supercharging the V8 gives it instant answers, all the time. It also squeezes your chest with a pounding barrel-chested exhaust noise like a low-level historical aircraft flypast. It makes bystanders duck.